Spinoff 2018 Highlights Space Technology Improving Life on Earth

Scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory used their expertise at detecting faint signals in satellite data to develop a device capable of detecting human heartbeats underneath piles of rubble. The technology has been licensed by multiple companies, including R4 Inc. After a magnitude 7.8 earthquake hit Ecuador in April of 2016, R4 president David Lewis Sr. brought the company's FINDER system to look for trapped victims. Here, Lewis, right, shows local firefighters how to operate the system. Credits: R4 Inc. › Larger view

The 2018
edition of NASA's annual Spinoff publication, released Tuesday,
features 49 technologies the agency helped create that are used in almost every
facet of modern life. These include innovations that help find disaster
survivors trapped under rubble (an innovation develop by JPL), purify air and
surfaces to stop the spread of germs, and test new materials for everything
from airplanes to athletic shoes.

"NASA's work represents an
investment in the future, not just for air and space travel,
but for the nation," said Stephen Jurczyk, associate administrator of the Space Technology Mission Directorate in Washington. "At the same time that NASA's space
exploration missions are inspiring young people to become scientists and
engineers, the agency's work in support of those missions is creating
jobs for them across many industrial sectors. Commercial technology spun
off from NASA research and technology programs, and missions creates
new companies, grows the economy, saves money, keeps us safer, and even saves
lives."

In Spinoff
2018, you'll learn how:

Ultra-sensitive
radar technology used to detect gravity fluctuations was repurposed to identify
the vital signs of disaster survivors trapped under rubble;

A
technique developed to preserve plants in a spacecraft led to devices that
eliminate bacteria, viruses, molds and volatile organic compounds from air,
surfaces and even laundry;

One
company's work on high-speed stereo photogrammetry for space shuttle analysis
now enables low-cost, highly-accurate materials testing to improve designs for everything
from running shoes to jetliners.

Other
highlights include: artificial intelligence that helps drones avoid collisions
and could one day enable self-driving cars; a business jet that is both the
fastest and the most efficient in its class; and a computer program that, 50
years after its creation, is still used to design cars, buildings and much
more.

"NASA
technologies dating as far back as the Apollo missions still are improving our
quality of life," says Daniel Lockney, NASA's Technology Transfer Program
executive. "Meanwhile, innovations made in support of upcoming missions, such
as the Orion capsule and the James Webb Space Telescope, are already finding
commercial applications. The benefits of the space program continue to
accumulate every year."

The book
also features a Spinoffs of Tomorrow section that highlights 20 NASA technologies
ripe for commercial application and available for licensing. These include an
algae photobioreactor that cleans wastewater while producing biofuels, a
revolutionary all-in-one gear and bearing, and the combined technologies of the
highly dexterous humanoid robot Robonaut 2.

Spinoff
is a part of the agency's Technology Transfer Program, which is charged with
finding the widest possible applications for NASA technology through
partnerships and licensing agreements with industry, ensuring that NASA's
investments in its missions and research find additional applications that
benefit the nation and the world.

Print
and digital versions of Spinoff 2018 are available on the Spinoff website at: